A Spiritual Awakening

I watch movies on TV and airplanes, but Jesus Revolution was my first trip to a theater since before the pandemic. It was well worth the visit.

I had met four of the characters in the movie during the Jesus Movement in the early 1970’s. The actors and music were excellent, yet this was a rare instance when most of the real-life people were more handsome and charismatic than the movie stars portraying them.

The movie describes how Lonnie Frisbee and Chuck Smith worked together in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s to bring thousands of young people to Christ in Southern California. Lonnie came out of the hippie scene and had long hair and a beard. Chuck was a straight Foursquare pastor with a family.

The worship services, baptisms at the beach, and discipleship house scenes in the movie brought tears to my eyes. I could sense the Holy Spirit moving as the characters shared the word of God and worshiped. It brought back memories from our ministries in Northern California that were bringing people to Jesus at the same time.

I met Lonnie and Connie Frisbee in Santa Cruz in 1973. They had been helping Danny Lehmann and Frank O’Neil with Mission Street Christian Fellowship. Lonnie had lived in the House of Acts in Novato in 1969. He went from there to San Francisco and then to Costa Mesa, where he worked with Chuck Smith at Calvary Chapel.

Lonnie had a dynamic preaching gift that drew people to the Lord. The movie portrays how he and Chuck struggled in their relationship. They differed over how the gifts of the Spirit should be used in worship services. Lonnie had other issues the movie did not address. He and Connie divorced and Lonnie died of AIDS in 1993.

Greg Laurie had the courage to include Lonnie in the movie. It would be tempting to leave him out because of those ministry struggles and his flaws. Lonnie did not get away with his sin; he lost his marriage and his ministry. When he died at 43 years old, he had been reconciled to the Lord, but it was too late for his body to recover.

Right now there are spiritual awakenings going on all over the United States. People are coming from all over the world to Asbury University in Kentucky to experience an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. CBN News reported revival is spreading to Texas A&M, Indiana Wesleyan, and LSU. Any time people are seeking the Lord intensely and people are giving their lives to Jesus, it is a good thing. Yet, because people are people, they will have struggles and challenges.

I had the privilege to speak on “Revival and Church Growth” at Hope Church in Tempe last month. Five hundred students were there, passionately worshiping the Lord at the Marquis Theater. Many responded to the altar call and six students committed their lives to Jesus that Sunday morning. Over 150 students have made commitments to follow Jesus at their ASU-focused congregation in the last two months. God is doing something special at Hope Church.

Many people have been praying for a revival to sweep America. They are distressed about ungodliness in our media, government and society. Millions of people have quit going to church. For a spiritual awakening to spread across our nation and around the world, it will take believers making the same bold declarations of faith and commitments to love each other that were common in the Jesus Movement and the book of Acts.

 Acts 11 tells about believers being scattered because of persecution. Instead of being intimidated by threats, they boldly shared their faith as they traveled towards safe havens. As they began to share the good news about Jesus with the Greeks, “The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.” (Acts 11:21)

For over fifty years, I’ve been preaching the gospel in many churches, schools and ministries. I’ve also used radio, TV, newsletters, Facebook, and Instagram to let people know Jesus is alive. I’m very thankful the Lord has opened these doors for me because I’ve had the privilege to see many people turn their lives to Jesus.

Having access to media allows us to get God’s word out to many people. However, nothing is more effective than sharing Christ one on one. Believers sharing their faith with others has been the most effective way the gospel has spread the last two thousand years. It is also available to all of us.

If you are willing to obey the Lord and share the gospel with others, you too will see people turn to the Lord. Every now and then, he may even “put his hand on you” as he did with the disciples in Acts 11:21 and increase the effectiveness of your testimony exponentially.

Don’t worry about the fact that you still stumble or have sinful desires at times. The same God who used imperfect people in the Bible—and the Jesus Movement—still uses flawed people today. They happen to be the only ones available.

If we really want a spiritual awakening, we will do our part, so God’s Kingdom will come and his is done on earth as it is in Heaven.